The Pantheon

Viridian Forest

Lucario stood near the edge of the sidewalk like a sentinel dropped into a different dimension. His arms were loosely at his sides, but his eyes—his eyes were working overtime. Up and down the metal-and-glass towers, watching cars hum past like low-hovering Pidgeotto, tracking humans and Pokémon weaving between traffic as if the world didn’t have time to wait for anyone anymore.

It was the sound that overwhelmed him most. The city roared without ever raising its voice. Electrical buzzing, snippets of overlapping conversations, the hiss of brakes, the upbeat jingle from a corner café, and whatever strange, artificial chirping was coming from a kid’s PokeNav nearby. It was everywhere, and nowhere. Constant. Dull but endless.

He flinched slightly when a bus whooshed by a little too close, the gust stirring his fur.

Ashley stood beside him, sipping through a bright orange straw like this was a regular Tuesday. Which, to be fair, it was. She’d swapped out her usual black vest, something light enough to handle Pewter’s heat but with just enough pockets to keep the chaos organized. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, then casually bumped her elbow into his arm.

“You okay, statue?” she asked, jerking her thumb toward the sliding glass doors of the Pokémon Center in front of them. “You’ve been staring at that automatic door for, like, five minutes. Pretty sure someone thought you were the new security system.”

Lucario’s ears twitched. He blinked once. Then again, slower. “It opens… by itself.”

Ashley grinned around her straw. “Yeah, it’s called ‘convenience.’ Revolutionary, I know.” She slurped loudly for effect. “Wait until you see a microwave. Or a hairdryer. Or... an escalator. Actually, hold that one, let me get my camera first.”

Lucario didn’t answer. His gaze swept back up to the skyline, to the blinding glass panes that curved around buildings like shimmering armor. The sunlight bounced in and out of them, turning the streets into a patchwork of heat and reflection. “In my time,” he said quietly, “glass this pure was reserved for temples. And even then… in small pieces.”

Ashley looked up with him, shading her eyes. “Now it’s used to advertise soda.”

“…Soda.” He repeated the word like it was ancient scripture. He wasn’t even sure what it was, but the way she said it, it couldn’t possibly be sacred.

“Don’t worry,” she said, patting the side of his arm like she was humoring a mildly confused grandpa. “We’ll get you caught up. Pewter’s got decent vending machines.”

Lucario’s expression darkened immediately. “I watched a Snorlax kick one after it ate his coin. It is a cursed machine.”

Ashley choked on her drink and had to turn away to cough out her laughter. “Okay, fair. Most accurate take I’ve ever heard.”

Venus and Mercury trotted over then, catching up after a brief exploration of the corner hotdog stand. Venus eyed the Pokémon Center doors warily—as if wondering whether they’d open for her or if she’d need to blast them with Ice Beam first. Mercury, naturally, darted right through the open space as they slid apart, tail flicking like he was showing off.

Lucario tilted his head. “That… was fast.”

“That’s Mercury’s entire brand,” Ashley said with a shrug. “Speed first, thoughts later.”

They stood there a moment longer, just breathing in the sound and chaos and warmth of Pewter. Ashley could see the tension in Lucario’s shoulders, though he tried to hide it under that usual aura of silent composure. He was holding it together—but just barely.